Description

The First is a huge Flatiron with many good face routes starting from the bottom to the top of the East side. It's probably the 2nd largest Flatiron overall. The climbing is longer and more varied than the Third with huge flakes, dihedrals, and the rollercoaster ridge. Climbs range from about 4-10 pitches. Virtually every climb is a quality line. There is adventure and there are crowds. A 60m rope is nice for these routes, especially for the rappel.

On a rare winter, you can even find an ice climb here....

Getting There

From Chautauqua Park (W on Baseline, near 9th, off US 36), take the diagonalling "Chautauqua Trail" from the parking lot. At the trail intersection once in the trees, go briefly south (L), then follow signs (R) for the 1st Flatiron to the base. Depending on which route you're going to do, either take the wooden bridge to the base (routes starting near the nadir) or stay on the trail and keep hiking up the hill to the left to another trail that leads to access for climbs that start higher on the East face (e.g. Fandango). Approaches range from 20-40 minutes for the casual walker.

Start about 1/3 of the way up the east face to the left of the huge left-facing dihedral that arcs up the face. To get there, continue up the trail past the bridge at the base of the First Flatiron. About 60 yards up the trail, there is a faint trail running straight up, marked by a small cairn 10 yards above the trail. Scramble up this trail about 200 hundred feet. Look for a junction (there are several) that you can get over the rock to your right, so that you are traveling at the base of the...[more]Browse More Classics in CO

If you solo this route in winter, TAKE A ROPE! I once had to down climb the east face when I found 3 foot ice sickles and snow all over the final summit block! I couldn't climb up to get to the down climb. What an adventure, f... I love climbing!

A few summers ago there was a severe bee problem on the summit block. It is possible to avoid the nests by climbing straight up and to the left instead of circling up the ramp to the right. This requires a few slightly more difficult and committing moves than the standard top out.

While roping up to climb the East Face yesterday a very big lion was checking us out from the top of the Macbeth boulder. We started the climb and watched park rangers try to chase it away, to no avail. The approach and descent trails from the First Flatiron were all closed. We had to bushwack down the boulderfield to the descent trail for the Third. $1000 fee if you are caught on a closed trail. The cat did not bother us but it did make the rangers very nervous and they yelled at us multiple times not not come back to the base. Also, a cloud of bees at least the size of an SUV was roaming over the bottom pitches of the East Face. It got very close to us and the sound was pretty incredible. Lots of fun.

What an amazing climb, I just did the 1st flatiron direct route! First pitch was my favourite, definitely a waker-upper. Back at work now, can't believe that as I type this, 24 hours ago I was up on the big headwall. *sigh* Reality beckons!

I was coming down the Saddle Rock Trail from the 1st today and about 200 yds. from the Gregory Canyon trailhead I met up with a bear. She was 30 yards away and looking down the trail. She didn't even know I was there until I spotted her; impressive animal. She took off down the trail and stopped about 15 yds. further down then turned and watched me. She apparently wasn't going anywhere. So, I chucked a couple of rocks grenade style into bush about ten yds. left of her. That sent her downhill into the bush. I was sure to make a lot of noise all the way to the trailhead. This is a nice alternative to the trail down the east side of the 1st.

We were up there Saturday (10/12/02) and did the rap in two parts, using the standard second fixed rap point on the south side. This is a single old, large eyebolt.

We did not back up the eyebolt, but I watched it as Bryan rapped first... and THE TOP OF THE RAP ANCHOR MUST HAVE FLEXED 1/4 INCH!!

I do not know how deep these bolts are placed in the rock, or what the bolts are like. It's difficult to back this bolt up easily, but I recommend it. Backing up fixed anchors is always a good idea, and especially this one!

Another descent option if you don't have a 60m rope is to downclimb the south face route. This is 5.1. It starts going down the west face right below the rappel bolt. Reach the monster ledge about 30 feet down, saunter around the corner to reach the south face, then diagonal - left as you're looking toward the ground - down the strata to step off the wall at an ancient snag. Establishing belay anchors, if you need them, could be a bit of an adventure, but should be manageable with springy things or TriCams.

Avoid this guy in the late afternoon. Right now there are millions of gnats congregating on high points along the ridge. I climbed the Direct Route this afternoon and felt like I was in Alaska in the spring when I got to the ridge. At least they weren't mosquitos. Be prepared to swat! Rock cools off a LOT after a short period of cloud cover, so don't be afraid to head up there if you see cumulus clouds in the sky. It might be cool enough to climb on.~Wm

I noticed a cable rap station at the top of Baker's Way where the route intersects the ridge. The cable is threaded under a large block and looks like it would go with a 60 m rope (have not tried it). This would be a good escape from either the [Direct Route] or [Baker's Way]. The direct route crosses [Baker's Way] at the gully and its very easy climbing in this gully to the ridge.

I just climbed this route again today and noticed a 3rd bolt on the first pitch. It is a Leeper hanger and 1/4" rawl drive 10-20' above the 2nd big glue in bolt. It had been a while since I last did this climb but I had never noticed this before. Has anyone else noticed this? Is someone adding old bolts to routes? I thought this was strange.

Peter: The new bolt has been mentioned previously, see the comment by AC on 5/9/2005 under "Direct Route". I remember more discussion but it does not seem to be on this page any more. It seems that this is indeed a new bolt and all comments recommended removal.

Jerry, that is a great question and I don't know the answer. David Roberts' new book talks about he and Jon Krakauer repeating this route a few years ago. However, there isn't enough detail given to pin it down exactly. I believe it was on the left-half of the east face, but it may not even be on one of the official routes.

Helpful tip, unless you would like to practice your rope management, My Climbing Co guide book said the descent from the top of the First Flatiron requires two ropes. Guess what it doesn't. I wasted my time scrambling this thing and dragging two ropes up while doing it. If you're gonna do the First, it is only 92 ft from the summit eybolts to the ground!

Climbed the 1st Flatiron on Sat. March 29th and rappelled off an anchor before the ridge (wind was howling). After reaching the ground, I was unable to pull my rope. If anyone retrieved my rope, I would appreciate hearing from you. My email is rhonda.eimers@hotmail.com Thanks!

For those of you who like to solo this: (a great outing by the way) as I was finishing the downclimb today I noticed that the old white dead tree that always provided a convenient way to get down the final 15-20 feet has suffered some damage. It seemed like it was further from the wall than before, but more disturbing is that one of the small broken off limbs that used to serve as a foot placement is now gone. This forces you to use holds on the wall--actually quite good--that I never had to bother with before. Overall, it makes this section of the downclimb just a bit more thought-provoking. Unfortunately, some day a big wind will probably fell the tree, but it will still be possible to get down those last few feet via rock.

The tree is gone off the SW face downclimb. It still goes just fine though, but it's a little harder. Luckily, you're only 10-15 feet off the ground by that point. I'm sure you could find another easier way, but I didn't bother.

Hey guys and gals. Had butterfingers for a second today and dropped four or five nuts on the 5.6R direct route. I dropped them a couple pitches below the ridge and am pretty sure a few of them stopped on the ledge below. They're taped with red, green, and yellow tape. If someone finds them, could you please email me @ kgmohr@gmail.com. Thanks!